tax credit

Members of the U.S. military, foreign service, and intelligence communities have an extra year to claim the homebuyer tax credit. As long as the qualified service member has been on extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more (between Jan. 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010), he or she has until April 30, 2011 to sign a sales contract and until June 30, 2011 to close on the property.

Read more at the IRS website....

Homeowners in Hampton Roads are working hard to sell before the homebuyer tax credits expire next month. Two credits are available: $8,000 for first-time buyers or buyers who haven't owned a home in three years, and $6,500 for those who've owned their current or latest home for five years.

To qualify for the credit, buyers have to sign a contract by April 30 -- a powerful incentive that property owners hope to take advantage of.

Read more in The Virginian-Pilot....

The federal homebuyer's tax credit deadline is just a month away, and Realtors say buyers know it. Properly priced homes are being snatched up.

February homes sales data for the Washington region show price increases over the same month in 2009, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems. Every county in the Virginia suburbs of Washington showed an increase in the average price of homes priced at $100,000 to $5 million. The outer suburbs that were hit the hardest by the mortgage crisis showed the biggest increases, with prices up 25% in Prince William County and up 13.5%in Loudoun County. Alexandria prices rose 17.5%, Fairfax County 7.3%, and Arlington County 3.4%.

Read more at the Washington Examiner...

Great news for Hampton Roads residents. The housing market continues to improve, according to The Virginian-Pilot, as October's numbers show to be greater than September's and October 2008.

Much of the rebound has come from first-time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 tax-credit, which will hopefully continue because of the recent extension of the tax-credit until April 2010.

Also, the extension of the tax-credit includes higher-incomes and an option for current homeowners to "move up". These qualities will hopefully help move more valuable houses on and off the market that first-time homebuyers could not purchase.

"First-time buyers rushing to take advantage of the now-extended federal tax credit continued to drive home sales in Hampton Roads in October, according to a report released Monday.

Last month, sales volume was up 2.3 percent over September and 28.1 percent over October 2008, according to Real Estate Information Network Inc. The Virginia Beach-based multiple listing service reported 1,107 homes in the region sold in October, compared with 864 a year ago.

October's was the biggest year-over-year gain for 2009, and it was the fifth month of such increases since home-sales volume turned positive in June. The rebound in home sales stands in stark contrast to the homes market a year ago, when sales were plummeting amid deteriorating economic conditions.

The federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers has buoyed sales across the country. Congress recently extended the $8,000 tax credit, originally scheduled to expire this month, through April and expanded the credit to include $6,500 for home-owners who have lived in their home for at least five years and want to buy a replacement primary residence.

'The tax credit, no question about it, has had a positive impact on the market,' said Ron Pearman, regional vice president for Long & Foster Real Estate. Of a sampling of homes that closed last month with Long & Foster, 70 percent were first-time buyers, Pearman said.

Other local brokers said Monday that the tax credit has accounted for as much as half of their recent sales."

Read the full story.

The Daily Press recently spoke with one couple who is taking advantage of the new tax credit and housing market to move out of their starter home.

This is a great time to move-up to a new home for a number of reasons:

1.  The new $6,500 tax credit. (See details.)

2.  The market is full of great bargains.

3.  Interest rates are still low.

Hopefully the move-up credit will be a big help to homeowners, and will help with the housing market recovery.

"George and Florence Sutton bought what they thought would be their starter home in 1990. Nearly 20 years later, they're finally moving up.

Turns out it's a good time to do so, with an $8,000 home buyer tax credit, low interest rates and a slew of inventory to pick from.

'Now is an excellent time to be looking for that move-up home because the bargains available on the more expensive properties are just unbelievable,' said Keith Canty, a real estate agent with Greg Garrett Realty. 'They lose some when they sell, but they gain much, much more when they buy. Anybody that can, this is an excellent time to do that.'

This summer, an up to $8,000 tax credit breathed enough life into a lackluster housing market locally and across the nation that Congress saw fit to extend and expand it. The Suttons saw it as a good opportunity to snag a move-up home they've been thinking about for three or four years, now that their kids are grown."

Read the full story.